Color a whole state; style its border and name

On individual or combined US ZIP and county maps, the state is the larger area layer. You can fill all the detail areas in a state with one click, then change individual ZIPs or counties. State outlines and large state names have their own controls.

1. 1

   Choose your territory first

   Add a name and color under START HERE, then click that name in the map legend to select it. A state does not get its own special legend: it uses your normal team or territory name.

2. 2

   Switch the coloring button to States

   The button above the map shows what the next click will color. Click it to switch between Colour: States and Colour: ZIP codes or Colour: Counties. In States mode, click anywhere inside the state to assign all its ZIPs or counties. In a combined map, neighboring states are left alone. The choice stays the same when you zoom.

3. 3

   Add individual exceptions afterwards

   Switch back to ZIP codes or Counties, select another legend color and click the smaller areas you want to change. This is a quick way to make one broad territory with a few local exceptions.

4. 4

   Check before replacing a mixed state

   If the state already contains a mixture of colored and uncolored areas, or different territory colors, the tool asks before replacing them. Choose Colour whole state to apply your selected color, or Keep existing colours to cancel. Undo restores the complete previous arrangement in one step. Clicking a uniformly colored state again with the same selected color clears it.

5. 5

   Make state lines stronger than local lines

   Open Map details, then Borders & labels. The States row has its own Borders switch and Width choice. The ZIP codes or Counties row below controls the finer boundaries independently. For example, use a stronger state line and finer county lines.

6. 6

   Choose large state names and their style

   Use the States Labels checkbox for state names. In State appearance, change the name color, name size and state border color. These settings work on single-state and combined maps. They do not change the size or color of the smaller ZIP/county labels.

7. 7

   Keep the result when you save

   With active access, save the map to retain your state settings, chosen coloring mode and detailed territory assignments. The state lines and names are included in the normal printable output. On Google shows the colored ZIPs/counties geographically; its Polygon labels switch is separate from the printed state names. Older saved maps open with default state styling until you change and save it.

What this looks like

Real US map controls and examples. Choose View larger to see the details.